Tuesday, December 9, 2008

ETA: Please use the curly girl method approved product list on the left hand side of my blog. I had a list below but, it was too confusing having an outdated list in this post and then the updated list on the side of the blog so I just removed the list that was previously in this post below.

I think the hardest thing about the curly girl method is finding which products are sulfate and silicone free. Many organic products are cg approved but not all.

You can either read and dissect labels for the ingredients below which gives me a headache. Or you can do the lazy way like I did and just find a list of curly girl approved products.

The following information is from www.naturallycurly.com and http://www.wikihow.com/Follow-the-Curly-Girl-Method-for-Curly-Hair:

Silicones and Sulfates

• Silicones that are not soluble in water and build up on the hair: Cetearyl methicone, Cetyl Dimethicone, Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone, Dimethiconol, Stearyl Dimethicone, and Trimethylsilylamodimethicone.

• Silicones that are slightly soluble in water and will build up on most types of curly hair: Amodimethicone, Cyclomethicone, Behenoxy Dimethicone, and Stearoxy Dimethicone.

• Silicones that are soluble in water and safe to use (they are not listed with PEG in front of them): Dimethicone Copolyol, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein Hydroxypropyl Polysiloxane, and Lauryl methicone copolyol.

A big clue that a product has sulfates or silicones is if an ingredient ends with -ate or -cone. The closer an ingredient is to the beginning of the list, the more of that ingredient is present in that product. Definitely avoid the silicones in the table listed below that are not water soluble.

Hey Ailene, I think CG will help bring out your natural waves. It's made my hair wavier, minus the crunchiness which I didn't like. If you're iffy about it, try it with the cheaper products like the Suave and White Rain.

curlsAbound: Yeah, I noticed that all of the Alba shampoos had sodium lauryl sulfoacetate so I couldn't include them in the list but, I did just add a couple of the Burt's Bees shampoos. The list on the left hand side of my blog is the updated list.

I just started CG a week ago. I have short-ish hair... to my shoulders , in a bob and it is wavy. Do you have products that you recommend... or have heard lots of people rave about?Right now i'm using suave naturals for my co-wash, for deep condish (leave in) I'm using bio infusion for strength and condition and for styling im using herbal essesnce totally twisted as well as mop texture pomade spray.

1. Suave Naturals (of course) for cowash2. Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose condtioner, L'oreal Vive Pro Nutri gloss for Medium to Long Curly/Wavy Hair, Giovanni 50:50 Balanced conditioner or Giovanni Smooth as Silk conditioner for rinse-out conditioner3. Kinky Curly Knot Today or Giovanni direct leave-in for leave -in conditioner4. Kinky Curly Curling Custard, Herbal Essences Set me up gel, or Biosilk Rock Hard gelee for gel. When I use Kinky Curly Curling Custard I usually add a little bit of Set Me up gel to it to add more hold. I'm not a big fan of the Biosilk Rock hard gelee but a lot of people on naturallycurly.com love it.5. If you feel you're getting build up, my favorite shampoo is Giovanni Tea Tree invigorating shampoo. 6. I also like adding a tiny bit of coconut oil when I'm scrunching in products. You have to get the pure coconut oil, like the kind you cook with. I got my Nutiva coconut oil from the Vitamin Shoppe.

Even though these products are CG, some of the formulas may be different or may change so always double check ingredients for non-soluble silicones such as

Thank you SOOOOO much for listing all these products! As a new-to-CG girl, I've already gotten sick and tired of pacing the hair-care shelves, reading EVERY label, and getting generally fed up. You give me hope that I can do this and break the horrible shampoo habit, and making it less frustrating to boot! Thanks again!

Hmm, I recently bought the JASON Natural Biotin Conditioner / Hair Fortifying Conditioner, which is on the list, but looking at the ingredients, it contains cyclopentasiloxane and dimethicone. Bah. Maybe it's changed since the list was made.

Thank you so much for the list...it has made it easier to shop for hair products. I would like to know if the WEN products are CG acceptable. I looked at the ingredients and it appears to be...but I am still an amateur at this so I would like another opinion.

For a gel I use Uncle Funky's Daughter Curly Magic, ingredients very similar to kinky curly (but somehow works slightly different). Seems ok to add to the list. Also I've been using Tresemme Naturals moisture conditioners for my co washes and I have been leaving it in. Is this product OK?

Greetings! Your list of products is very helpful. What do you think about the ingredients in these products? http://www.beautifulcurls.com/ My hair is wavy to curly, so I have been looking for something that won't weigh my hair down.

The complete list of ingredients for the shampoo can be found here http://www.supersup.com/alaffia-beautiful-curls-shea-butter-curl-enhancing-shampoo-12-oz-shampoo-187132006213 and here for the conditioner http://www.supersup.com/ingredient/coconut-oil/alaffia-beautiful-curls-curl-enhancing-shea-butter-leave-in-conditioner-12-oz-conditioner-350-ml-187132006312

I've been a big user of Morrocon oil, Argan oil etc but didn't really do a lot for my hair. So I started the CG method and hair starting to look great already but the other day without thinking I stuck Morrocon oil in and noticed it went frizzy when I looked at the bottle among other ingrediants it has dimethacone (?sp) so in the bin it goes :)

For more than a yr I was apposed to using gel in my hair, I couldn't to twist outs cause the ends wouldn't curl, but after starting the cg method I realized that my hair needs gel for my hair to clump and that curl to form on the end, now my has mad definition and my hair is doing fine with the gel and Ive used it faithfully for 3 months, the only difference I see is more moisturized hair

Now that my hair feels the way that I expect it to, I dont use ANYTHING that says sodium laureth ANYTHING, if it has ANY kind of cone in it,even with a PEG in front of it, I leave it on the shelf, I dont want a set back because I overloaded it with protein b4 and it took me a long time to correct it, so now im a firm believer that if its not broke dont fix it, im going to stick with what I already know works for my hair 4 life and that's the cg method !

I see that you have Suave Naturals in your cg friendly list, just wanted to give you a heads up that it contains methylisothiazolinone and methylchloroisothiazolinone, which are used as preservatives in a lot of personal care products but are linked to nerve damage.

Hi there. I have a comment and also a question. I am just starting the CG method and bought my first conditioner off the list. I ordered it online, but when I got it I realized it had amodimethicone as the third ingredient. Just wanted to let you know because it is on the list. The conditioner is "Garnier Fructis Fortifying Cream Conditioner." Also I remember reading something about making sure the products do not contain alcohol in it. However, it seems all the conditioners (the cheaper ones at least) have alcohol in it. That conditioner I mentioned above has "Cetearyl Alcohol" as the second ingredient. Should these products with Alcohol be totally avoided?

I have read this web page and its comment for more innovative information please read our blog and visit our site:-By utilizing all natural hair products, you can make your hair look shiny, lovely and enthusiastic. Utilize just all curly hair products for reflexive and sound hair. natural hair weave are useful for each kind of hair including straight, curly hair and ethnic sort. Since these shampoo for natural hair products are made from plant extracts, seed oils and hair just twice in a week.

hello! thank you so much for the list of CG approved products! I'm new to CG and am starting this week, I was just wondering if the Tresemme Naturals shampoo and conditioner are CG approved, I see the conditioner says silicone free, and the shampoo says low sulphate but I am not quiet sure. thank you again :)

Curly Girl Approved Products

This list includes modified and non-modified Curly Girl Method shampoos, conditioners, and styling products. Any silicones in the following products are indicated. Water soluble silicones, such as Dimethicone copolyol, Hydrolyzed wheat protein hydroxypropyl polysiloxane, Lauryl methicone copolyol and silicones with PEG listed before it, will wash out with water. Slightly soluble silicones, such as Amodimethicone, Cyclomethicone, Behenoxy dimethicone, and Stearoxy dimethicone may build up on hair but, some have found it will wash out with a conditioner wash or no/low poo shampoo. If you need more information about "bad" and "good" silicones, click here and here. Always double check formulas before purchasing because formulas may change and on the list below I don't flag other ingredients which your hair may or may not benefit from i.e., glycerin, alcohol, protein, etc. You may also find that products are listed in multiple categories because they have multiple uses. Remember this is supposed to be fun so don't get too frustrated as you experiment with products.

The list is broken up into 4 major categories: shampoo, conditioner, styling products and oils. Shampoo and oils are not broken down further. Conditioner is broken down into 3 categories: co-wash conditioner, rinse out conditioner, deep conditioner and leave-in conditioner. Co-wash conditioner is usually a cheaper, thinner conditioner. Rinse out conditioners are usually heavier and more expensive. Styling products are broken down into 8 categories: cream, gel, heat protectant, mousse, pomade, serum, shine enhancing/moisture products (non-spray) form, and styling/shine spray.

The easiest way to view this list is to cut and paste it into a Word document or similiar program.